The Poultry Association met today and the news tonight is that the price of chicken will be going up. We can’t tell you when or by how much yet but we can you assure you that it will happen and fairly shortly. That is because at their annual general meeting today - poultry makers made it clear that with increasing price of diesel and other inputs such as corn and fertilizers- they have two choices - increase prices or go out of business. Orlando Habet is President of the Poultry Association and he says the increase is imminent.
Orlando Habet, President – Poultry Association
“There is much concern. The industry is looking at the price increase in the diesel especially about ten day ago. The productive sector which has tractors and all the diesel, they are concerned because the fuel contributors significantly to the inputs.
The producers can try to absorb the cost but after a while they have to pass on the cost to the consumers. What happened last year is that in 2006 we were losing some producers and ion 2007 they decided that they either get out of production or the association and the industry try to get a higher price and that is what we did. We had two or three small hikes. Wholesale was about $1.65 per pound and by the end of December it was about $2.04 per pound for chicken. Eggs went up significantly because of the same problem with the price of feed.
It is anticipated therefore that if the producers go into production of corn this season, it will be more costly to produce every grain of corn, every pound of corn. Not only because of fuel but also fertilizers; the fertilizer price went up from $33 four or five years ago to right now where it is about $93 to $94 per hundred pound of fertilizer. So the inputs for the agro-productive sector are really tremendous.”
Keith Swift,
Will we be paying more for chicken?
Orlando Habet,
“I can’t say exactly when. The producers are looking closely at the cost and the returns they are getting. We are lucky in a way as consumers because there is competition amongst themselves because there are four or five small plants. So because of competition, they try to keep the price as low as they can and one can’t go above the other because then they start losing money. So that helps but eventually when that margin reaches where we can’t take the losses anymore, then they will come together to decide on a increase in price.”
Again, Habet didn’t want to commit to a date of a price increase. One figure he did share with us is the $61 million that the industry generated last year. $5 million of that came from eggs and the remaining $56 million from the sale of chicken. Last year Belizeans ate more chicken per capita than anywhere else in the region – at an average of 100 pounds of chicken per person. The wholesale price of chicken is currently at $2.04 per pound.
Habet says one area of concern to the industry is the declining sale of eggs. In 2006 an average Belizean consumed 109 eggs annually. In 2007 that figure dropped to 105 eggs annually. Seems like a nominal decrease but when you compare it to the region – it is worrying for poultry producers. The average consumption of eggs in the Caribbean is 165 per capita annually and in Mexico it is more than double that. We asked Orlando Habet if the recent increase in the price eggs is what’s causing the decrease in consumption.
Orlando Habet,
“We need to make efforts in terms of promotion and advertisements for consumption of eggs because it is a very nutritious product and the little negative that you would hear about it would be in terms of containing cholesterol. Well many food contain cholesterol. The cholesterol in egg is not that high.”
Keith Swift,
Does the drop consumption have anything to do with the increase in price?
Orlando Habet,
“I don’t think so. What happens is that last year in December and every year around Christmas season there is an increase demand bur the supply is constant because you can’t ask the chickens to produce more during one month. The producers started to produce more in 2006 to make up for that difference during the Christmas season but after Christmas they stayed with too many eggs and then they lost money. So they had to go back down in terms of production. So they have to see where they can find a balance in terms of supply and demand. And as the demand increases then they have to go up with the supply.”
There are 400 poultry farmers and 2,500 directly employed in the industry.
